Leading a several thousand people organization towards Agile is not an easy task. It is a complex challenge where there is a very low predictability of success of your change initiatives. In this talk I will give you some theoretical background on how to successfully approach change in your company. I will exemplify this with the story of our agile change at Ericsson, one of the world’s largest SW companies. I will talk about our change initiatives, the desired and undesired things that emerged from them and how we acted upon them. This will help you understand the nature of an organizational change towards Agile and how to successfully approach it yourself.

1. Hendrik Esser
@HendrikEsser
Manager R&D Operations
Program Director
Supporting Agile Adoption
Experiencing a large Agile
Transformation
Agile ME 2017, Dubai, March 2017

2. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
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3. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Driving change in companies
A tool that helps you applying
systems thinking when driving
change in your company
Example: Our agile transformation
Summary
Q&A

4. Architecting Change

5. Complexity

6. Complexity?

7. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Cynefin framework
Dave Snowden, HBR Article, Nov 2007
Complexity:
- (Very) low Predictability
- Cause  effect only in hindsight
 Outcomes can’t be exactly
predicted: they emerge
Successful approach:
Experimentation:
probe-sense-respond
Approaching Complexity

8. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08

9. TEXT
Change the system

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System Change
Experiments?

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How can we influence
a human system?

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› All societies have shared
rules/constraints.
› They are either set or
they emerge.
In a company we usually
set and manage
constraints
Constraints

13. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Constraints?
People
Processes
Structures
Behavior
Capabilities
Interdependencies
asystemofconstraints

14. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Eco-System Tool
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
desired
state
or
problem
statement
Human System Action Tool – Ericsson AB/Hendrik Esser

15. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Eco-System Tool
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
desired
state
or
problem
statement
Behavior
Mindset/attitude
Values
Needs
Competence
Skills
# people
Hidden talent
Processes
Practices
Tools
Habits
Organization
Governance
Compensation
Roles
(Informal) networks
Human System Action Tool – Ericsson AB/Hendrik Esser

16. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Learning cycle
Look at the system
Analyze:
- Is your vision still valid?
- What supports your vision
- What doesn’t
Take change actions
Define a
change experiment/
Intervention
Observe what
emerges
 Retrospectives

17. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Our agile transformation
Example

18. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
1

19. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Expected leadership behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration Dev-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination.
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance

20. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
2

21. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Leadership expected behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration R&D-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance
Teams ignore
Committees
 Architecture Q
endangered
Full
Leadership
Support for the
change.
Re-enforce architect
and committee roles
architects & committees
mentoring approach

22. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
3

23. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Leadership expected behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration R&D-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance
Working SW is
the only progress
indicator
Documentation not
handled appropriately.
Re-enforce architect
and committee roles
architects & committees
mentoring approach
Clarify PO role
Higher prio on non-code
Focus on everything
the customer expects,
not only code

24. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
4

25. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Leadership expected behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration R&D-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance
Teams diverging
 discussions what is
the better practice & who
has the best one.
Re-enforce architect
and committee roles
architects & committees
mentoring approach
Strengthen decision model:
more e2e in DoD
Clarify which processes & tools are
mandatory and which ones optional
Empowerment within
boundaries
e2e flow
not optimized
Collaboration
Dev-ProdMgt
working well

26. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
5

27. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Leadership expected behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration R&D-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance
Teams want
to be closer to the
customers
Re-enforce architect
and committee roles
architects & committees
mentoring approach
Strengthen decision model
Clarify which processes & tools are
mandatory and which ones optional
Empowerment within
boundaries
Remove commitment
decisions from the modelEarly customer interactionLink teams into the communication
between ProdMgt and Customer
Customer early demos

28. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Intervention
6

29. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
ProcessesStructures
Behavior Capabilities
Better
Customer
satisfaction
Q
TTM Scrum
Leadership expected behaviors
Empower teams
Agile manifesto
Collaboration R&D-ProdMgt
Uncertainty Mgt
Retrospectives
X-fct teams
System Design, Development,
Test in one org
ScM, PO roles
Decision model
Backlog coordination
Recruit leaders (right mindset)
Train and coach teams
Governance
Teams
overcommitted to
customers
 high stress level
Re-enforce architect
and committee roles
architects & committees
mentoring approach
Strengthen decision model
Clarify which processes & tools are
mandatory and which ones optional
Empowerment within
boundaries
Remove commitment
decisions from the model
Learn how to make
realistic commitments
Expectation management

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The
journey
continues
…

31. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Results
100%
50%
product releases on time
since the change
less defects found at customer after
product release
Better decisions through significantly improved
interactions (collaboration culture)

32. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Our organizations are complex systems.
An (agile) transformation is an emergent change of a
(human) system:
 Run system change-experiments + see what emerges
 adapt via the next experiment
The eco-system tool helps to analyze and identify potentially
fit-for-purpose system change experiments/interventions.

33. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08
Q
A

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36. Hendrik Esser | © Ericsson AB 2017 | 2017-03-08